


Repaying a Debt

by StevenTLawson



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Female Draco Malfoy, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StevenTLawson/pseuds/StevenTLawson
Summary: After saving the live of someone in the Chamber of Secrets it changed how that person would treat him, this opened doors Harry never knew existed and would have world changing repercussions for all in the magical world.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 130





	1. Chapter 1

Lucius Malfoy knew what the diary that he sent off to Hogwarts was and what it could do, how could he not, it'd be a pretty dumb move to just pass off Voldemort's Diary without having some inkling of what it was capable of, after all if it didn't do anything or even function as part of a plan, then he'd basically just be giving it away. And should the Dark Lord have ever found out about that, he’d be punished severely for it.

So the reason why he had a plan in the first place was because he had been talking to the diary long enough for the Tom Riddle in it to give him instructions, but Lucius Malfoy was not capable of getting into the school without being seen as if he was there, he'd likely be in meetings and being that close to Albus Dumbledore was not something Tom Riddle's horcrux was willing to gamble with should the plan be found out.

No, there was another closer, more obedient option available to him.

"Her body will lie in the Chamber forever," Harry grumbled as he walked into the Chamber of Secrets. He could see the unmoving blonde body on the cold stone floor. "I can't believe I'm doing this for a Malfoy. Okay Tom, let's make this quick, I don't really want to be doing this, but I also don't want you to get a body back." Harry warned as he was less concerned than he would have been if it had been someone he knew or liked, or even considered an acquaintance. But no, the blasted cursed book had to bring her down to the chamber.

"Potter, you," Dracaena said as she fluttered her eyes awake to see Harry kneeling over her, the massive body of a basilisk laying still behind him.

"Yeah, yeah, you can insult me later, let's go," Harry grumbled as he stood up, dragging the Sword of Gryffindor behind him as the magical blade clacked on the stone floor. "I saved you once, but if you want to stay down here, I will leave you," Harry shouted as Fawkes flew over to roost on Harry's shoulder.

"Bugger," Dracaena muttered as she knew that she now owed the ruddy Boy-Who-Was-Too-Good-To-Be-Her-Friend a life debt. She hurried to catch up to Harry, giving the dead snake a wide berth before following along behind Harry closely.

* * *

Harry came to the door of Privet Drive after his Aunt shrieked for him. He had to rub his eyes because he did not believe who he was seeing on his relative's doorstep. "Well," Dracaena pouted. "Are you going to invite me in," she tapped her foot on the doormat waiting for Potter to be a gentleman and let her come into the home.

Stepping out of the way for the young lady who had been a thorn in his side for the last two years. "This had better be good." Harry glared as he led Dracaena upstairs to his room.

"You really live like this?" she said smugly as her nose wrinkled in disgust at seeing the state of his room, the entire floor they were on was the size of her bedroom, his bedroom was smaller than her second closet.

"Yeah, I do," Harry flatly replied as he sat on the bed that creaked under the weight. "So did you come here to see how the fabled Boy-Who-Lived lives, or did you want to get in some more jabs that you forgot to use on the train?"

"No Pot-," she stopped and held back her vitriol at how rude he was being to her. "Harry, I have come here because there is something urgent that you need to know."

"Oh goody, last year your house elf came here to give me a warning and nearly ended up killing me, the little blighter. Has Lucy decided to send his daughter to try and do better?" Harry smirked at the girl’s confusion and frustration.

"Father is in Azkaban," Dracaena quietly replied. "I told my mother about the diary and what happened, she was furious and turned him into the aurors. He won't be in there for very long, but he's not going to be without scrutiny from now on."

"Harsh," Harry said. "What's Azkaban?" Not knowing what that place was, he figured it was a prison, but you never know with these crazy wizards.

Dracaena paused as she had to analyze Harry's features for any signs that he was mocking her, she found none, which could only mean he was genuinely clueless, as she couldn't believe he was that good at hiding his emotions. "It's our world's prison, and that is partly the reason I have come to see you?"

"Oh no way, I am not going to help you to get your father out!" Harry immediately protested as he stood up and while he wasn't the largest boy in his year, he practically towered over the Malfoy girl. "If you think I'm going to do anything that benefits the man that was going to kill half the school, the man who was willing to let you DIE!!!" Harry shouted. "Just to bring back his halfblood bastard of a master, you can get right the fuck out and never come back."

"I didn't come here to do that Harry," Dracaena placed her hands on Harry's arm, hoping she could try to calm him long enough for her to have a chance to explain why she was in his home. "It's about another prisoner, Sirius Black." She had assumed that he knew the name of the man who betrayed his parents to the Dark Lord.

"Who?" Harry shook his head as he pulled away from Dracaena, moving to another side of the room so he had some distance from the blonde.

"You can't be serious," Dracaena said as she turned to face him. "You don't know who he is? Bloody hell Potter, that's..." she sputtered for a moment before taking a calming breath herself. "He's the man who sold out your parents to the Dark Lord, he's the reason they died, he betrayed them and he just broke out of prison, likely to kill YOU!" she jabbed her perfectly manicured hand into Harry's chest after she crossed the room to close the distance between them.

"Why do you care? I figured you'd want me dead after last year especially." Harry folded his arms as he waited for another explanation, and by god if she said it was because she was secretly in love with him, he'd toss her out the window.

"Because I owe you a life debt you ungrateful ignoramus," Dracaena screamed at him. "I have to make sure you are safe because you hold power over me," stomping her foot on the floor, making a board creak. Had she not been so worked up she would have deduced that was where Harry kept his most personal belongings.

"Please, life debts," Harry snorted in amusement at hearing her answer. "Pull the other one, it has bells on it. As if life debts are a thing."

"They are," Dracaena gasped, she had known that Potter was a fool and flaunted the rules with abandon, but if he wasn't lying to her, it was out of ignorance and not malice. "I would have died, worse so because of something my father did to me, I was a literal damsel in distress and you saved me with no thought to your own life or benefit, if I don't want to be a cursed squib for the rest of my life, I need to look out for your best interest." she said as she dug her finger into his chest firmly, which she found surprisingly more muscular than she had expected. "Which- which means you need to stay alive until I can pay it off."

"And there isn't a faster or simpler way to do that so you can leave me alone?" Harry raised an eyebrow as he waited for an answer that was hopefully something he could do to get her out of his house.

Blushing vibrantly, Dracaena slowly started to lift up the hem of her robes. "If-if you'd like, just please, be gentle with me," she nervously said as she couldn't even look him in the eyes now.

"What are you doing?!" Harry shouted as he gripped her hands so she would release her skirt. "Are you crazy, what was that about?" Quickly looking around his room as he expected a team of police to burst in and arrest him on the charges of being a pervert.

"It's the fastest way, you would just bed me," Dracaena growled in frustration at the boy. "One moment you say you want to sate your urges with my body, the next you act like I tried to blind you, make up your mind Potter."

"I didn't know that was an option," Harry hissed as he hurried to check the hallway and the window because he was still not sure how safe it was to remain in the room with Dracaena. Once he was reasonably sure he wasn't going to get tackled by a burly team of angry bobbies, he sighed and sat back down on his bed. "I don't, I'm not going to force you to have sex with me, I'm not that kind of guy." He said slowly as he knew he needed to choose his words much more carefully, and maybe figure out what a life debt actually entailed.

"Then let me help you my way," Dracaena nodded, grateful that Harry hadn't forced himself on her, not on a dirty muggle bed, where no one would hear her, where she'd be pinned under his sweaty and tense body, being... She had to stop and keep herself from continuing that line of thought even as her body shuddered for a reason she didn’t know. "I figure if I can keep you alive for at least this year, then the debt will be settled and you can go back to hating me."

"Fine, now how do you plan to help me?" Harry inquired.

"You're going to stay with me and my mother for the summer, then you should be safe once you are back in Hogwarts again," Dracaena explained. "So pack up your belongings and let's go." she ordered as she would be glad to be out of this filthy muggle domicile.

"What makes your home safer than here?" Harry asked the young lady even as he already started to pack a bag with whatever he owned in the room, he didn't want to stay with the Dursley's any longer than he had to and he'd be willing to take up Ms. Malfoy's offer, but he still wanted to know her mentality for the offer.

"You live in a muggle neighborhood, it took me one owl to find you," Dracaena smirked at how clever it was to employ the mail system to locate Harry Potter. "And I highly doubt your relatives would put up a decent fight against the Dark Lord's right hand man."

"No, they'd probably bring me right out to him so long as they could watch me die," Harry joked as he moved a floorboard out of the way to get his wand, cloak and most importantly to him the photo album of his parents. "Now I just need to get my trunk," he said as he bundled up the things in his room and grabbed Hedwig's cage.

Dracaena stood back and observed as Harry opened the numerous locks on the cupboard under the stairs, she had questions about the amount of locks she had seen, one the outside of Harry's door, but she knew better than to question it at the moment. She especially knew to keep her mouth shut when she saw the words 'Harry's Room' and 'Birthdays' carved into the back wall of the small place. That was something she’d have to discuss with her mother.

"Well I have everything I own, let's go," Harry said quickly, turning to see Vernon who had been keeping an eye on him the entire time. "Goodbye Durlseys, I'll probably see you next summer, if not, then I was murdered and you can celebrate my death," he said sarcastically as he left the home and stood on the curb waiting for Dracaena to follow him outside.

"Have you ever taken the Knight Bus?" Dracaena asked as she figured she already knew the answer but she found that she was particularly drained after the admittedly short discussion with Harry Potter and she didn’t want to trudge all the way down to a local floo just to find out he’s never used that before either..

"Nope," Harry smirked as he stood on the curb and waited for her to insult him or do something rude.

Dracaena held out her wand and a second later the sound of a crack caught Harry's attention as a large triple decker purple bus pulled up the street.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus a mode of transpor-" Stan started to say before Dracaena shoved a sack of coins into his hands.

"Save it Stan, two for Malfoy Manor, up to the ward line, no further, make it quick," she commanded as she embarked the bus. Harry lugged his owl cage and school trunk up onto the step. The older conductor gave Harry an appraising look, but also knew better than to comment on the dalliances of a Malfoy.

Harry was not prepared for this brand new and oh so amazing method of magical transportation that he was flung all around and took himself and Dracaena to the floor in his clumsiness, he reflexively put himself underneath her to absorb the blow, rather than crushing her, so now the blonde girl was pinning him to the floor and he realized something. 'Dracaena looks good from this angle,' He thought as he appraised her from his new position

* * *

Harry dragged his trunk up the long cobblestone path leading up to Malfoy Manor as Dracaena kept a pace just ahead of him. If he was a more lecherous boy, he'd assume she had a sway in her steps for his benefit, but he was just a teenage boy and enjoyed the motion of her posterior making sure to not tumble over and to look up frequently to ensure she didn't catch him stealing glances.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor Harry Potter," Dracaena said as the doors opened at her approach, with Narcissa Malfoy waiting patiently in the entrance hall, she had been aware of the situation her daughter found herself in and agreed this was the preferable course of action. And after the story that she had gotten out of her daughter about what had likely transpired in the chamber. The sly mother had a plan in place to get Young Mister Potter to tell her in great detail what went down underneath the school.

Harry had been led up to the room he would be staying in by Narcissa who he had to admit was still a very attractive woman, and it didn't take him very long to tell where Dracaena's figure came from.

"I will send for a house elf when dinner is ready," she said as she closed the doors to Harry's room, she was a much more educated witch and could tell that Harry had been 'appraising' her as she could see his reflection in the strategically placed mirrors throughout the halls.

Harry looked at how spacious the room he was brought to was larger than the entirety of the Dursley's property. He took a glance down at his trunk and realized that he had not enough things to even cover the mattress with. It made him feel inadequate, which was impressive since he normally didn't care about how few possessions he had from the Dursleys but now that he could see how a proper wizarding room was to be filled with their belongings, in a way it filled him with longing. _‘Is this how I should have lived?_ ’ Harry thought to himself as he opened his trunk and put his meager belongings into a drawer, barely filling it.

* * *

Downstairs the two Malfoy witches were having a brief discussion over tea. "So, tell me what did you discover when you arrived at the home of the young lord upstairs?" Narcissa sipped from her small cup.

"His room is small, filled with old and broken belongings, there were locks," Dracaena scrunched up her features as she brought forward all the details she noticed. "At least three of them, on the outside of the door, along with a flap for a cat, but... I didn't see evidence of a feline anywhere in the home." She stopped as she wasn't sure how to relay the next pieces of information.

"Go on dear, I'm sure it's not so bad," Narcissa nodded as she didn't like what she heard, she had suspicions about the boy stemming from the few times she had seen him and from information Dracaena sent to her in letters from Hogwarts and what she was able to glean from Severus’ rantings about the boy.

"There was a cupboard, under the stairs, the same size as a space that would be occupied by a house elf, but, it... there were words scratched inside, it said it was Harry's room and there were ten marks underneath the word birthdays," Dracaena bit her bottom lip. "I don't understand mother, what did I see?"

"I don't know what to tell you, that is new," Narcissa admitted as she didn't know what to think of that. Anything she could conceive of was definitely something worrying. "But do not bring it up to him, if need be, I will ask."

"Yes mother," Dracaena nodded obediently.

"And your impression of him?" Narcissa continued her inquiry.

"He's bloody noble, he accidentally brought up a 'faster' way to repay the debt but before I could even reveal more than half of my thighs he was panicking that he had done something wrong. I truly believe that he has no idea how our world works," Dracaena gave her assessment of Harry when she wasn't looking to fling barbs at him or his lackies.

"Interesting, he did look at my backside while I was showing him to his room," Narcissa smirked. "So he is not nearly as noble as he tries to be."

"I caught him looking at mine a few times on the walk up and..." Dracaena sucked back a hiss as she said one word too many.

"And..." Narcissa looked down at her daughter with a sly grin.

"We tumbled over each other on the Knight Bus, I straddled him, by accident, but I felt something in his pants." Dracaena blushed.

Narcissa let out a hum as she thought for a moment. "And about how large was that 'something' you felt would guess?"

Sighing as she saw no way around it, she held her hands a good distance apart. "It felt a bit longer than my wand." She had only felt it pressing against her thigh for a brief moment but it was definitely something that would not go unnoticed.

"Impressive," Narcissa mused as she contemplated that particular detail. "I believe dinner is just about ready, I will go and collect Mr. Potter while you attend to yourself." she said dismissing her daughter, who felt very thankful that she could be alone to take a cold shower.

Narcissa casually opened the door to the room Harry had been sent to, and she could easily hear the shower in the attached bathroom running. "Almost too easy," she said as she called for one of her house elves to remove the towels from the bathroom and place them next to her on the bed, where she splayed herself out seductively.

Harry reached over to the counter where he had thought he put the towels but assumed he must have left them on the bed by mistake. He blamed it on being in a new home but stepped out of the bathroom thinking he was alone in the room when he froze seeing Mrs. Malfoy laying on the bed, presumably waiting for him. “M-Mrs. Malfoy!” Harry squeaked in surprise, nearly jumping in fright.

“Hello Mr. Potter,” Narcissa smiled at him. _‘Oh that is quite nice,’_ she thought to herself as she took in his glistening naked form. “I came to discuss somethings with you, but if you wish to-,” she was cut off when Harry finally realized he was naked and scurried back into the bathroom. She chuckled to herself for her teasing when she noticed that besides his butt, which she found to be very cute, his body was absolutely littered with scars.

‘ _Fun times will have to wait,’_ Narcissa frowned as she could hold off a while to determine more about how The-Boy-Who-Lived actually lived. “Missy, please bring Mr. Potter some towels.” she called out knowing her house elf would complete the task.

* * *

Harry was a blushing mess as he sat at the large dinner table with the two ladies. He was internally panicking that he had just flashed Malfoy’s mother. “Harry,” Dracaena hissed across the table at him. “Have you heard a single thing my mother has said?”

“What?!” Harry exclaimed as he’d been so in his own head he didn’t know someone was talking to him. “No, I’m sorry,” he quickly said as he shrank in his seat.

“I was asking how you liked your room?” Narcissa said as she watched the boy act very timidly, something she was surprised how his demeanor seemed to shift.

“It’s fine, I mean, great, better than anything I’ve ever had before,” Harry said, quickly giving praise to Mrs. Malfoy for taking him in.

Narcissa hummed. “I suspect as much, Dracaena mentioned that your other room was... lacking.” letting the implication that she was aware of his muggle home, even if she only knew that his room was small and full of broken objects. But it wasn’t on her to deduce that she had very little information, it was on Harry to be careful about how much he revealed.

“It’s not so bad,” Harry pushed around some of his food on the plate.

“More used to a cupboard?” Narcissa raised an eyebrow knowingly as Harry nearly dropped his fork.

Pausing for a moment, Harry holding back the first vitriolic thing he wanted to say to the woman. “Yeah, better than a cupboard.” He finally admitted through gritted teeth as he wasn’t sure where she was getting her accurate information from.

“Harry,” Narcissa called out to him, so he would look her in the eye. He did so immediately, which to her was another issue, there were so many mental spells that could be initiated with eye contact, but it only served to show how little education he had. “I need to know what your homelife was like.”

“Why?” Harry asked sarcastically.

“Because while you are here, I do not want to make the same mistakes everyone else has with you.”

“What mistakes?” Harry asked, wondering where the mother was going with this.

“Dracaena,” Narcissa said to her daughter who looked at her patiently. “If you would give me some time alone with Mr. Potter.”

Nodding Dracaena left the room, heading off to her own while her mother pulled every bit of information out of Harry that she could.

“I can suspect you do not like me,” Narcissa said as she took a sip from her wine.

“Not you, just,” Harry sighed. “Your daughter was not the nicest person to me.”

“And now?”

“She’s supposedly keeping me safe from an escaped murderer,” Harry shrugged. “So I guess she’s not the worst.”

“Thank you,” Narcissa said.

“What for?”

“You saved my daughter's life and brought to light that my husband was planning to sacrifice her for the Dark Lord.”

Shrugging as he looked back down at his plate. “Well, it’s what anyone would have done. I might not like her, but I don’t want to see her die or something petty like that.”

“I disagree,” Narcissa shook her head. “And not just because anyone would have done it. For one, her father is the one who put her in that situation to begin with, all for the Dark Lord. If Lucius didn’t care enough about her, why should I have expected anyone else but myself too? Secondly, you didn’t think about how you could benefit from doing so. That is what separates you from the rest of them. You acted courageously and selflessly, all because you didn’t want anyone harmed. That is something that deserves a reward.” The blonde mother standing up from her chair and sashayed over to Harry’s side.

“But you’re already letting me stay here, to keep me safe from Sirius Black?” Harry questioned why he felt he should get anything for what he had done, he’d never gotten anything before after all. He was trying not to look at the way Mrs. Malfoy’s hips swayed with every step.

“Oh, that is because Dracaena is repaying a debt to you for saving her life. I, on the other hand, feel that you deserve something for all the ways you have benefitted me,” Narcissa said as she stood next to Harry, the young man’s eyes widened in anticipation. Leaning over the mother placed her lips tenderly on Harry’s who froze in shock at the touch.

“A little too young to do anything more, for now... but a hero at least has earned a kiss for saving an innocent maiden,” Narcissa smirked as she left Harry to his own thoughts.

Harry’s summer at the Malfoys was very educational for him, but sadly all good things must come to an end and Harry found himself on the Hogwarts Express once more.

* * *

"Harry we've been looking all over for you," Hermione shouted as she saw Harry's messy black hair from her place outside the train. She burst into the compartment he was in only to stop once she noticed that Harry had not been alone. "I-, you-" she stammered as her mind caught up with the fact that Dracaena Malfoy was sitting across from Harry Potter. "Harry, please explain?" she politely requested as she didn't know where to start and deciding to let Harry just talk would be easier for her to formulate a proper sentence.

"Dracaena offered me sanctuary in her home because of Sirius Black’s escape," Harry nodded as he felt that Dracaena would prefer to keep that she was repaying a life debt as private information, and he wasn't going to provide any details into what happened inside the halls of the Malfoy Manor. Those memories were for himself only.

"I, really?" Hermione blinked curiously. "Is that where you have been?"

"Yes, and as you can see I am unmurdered, so I would say that it worked out quite well." Harry cheekily replied. "It really was for the best, could you see the Dursleys being able to stop Volde- Tom's right hand man," he corrected himself as Dracaena was still not comfortable hearing the name of the Dark Lord, but with his muggle name, she was able to stand it.

"Mate, you gotta go, I just saw that ugly bint Narcissa Malfoy so Dracaena can't be-" Ron said as he pushed Hermione forward into the room.

Harry loudly cleared his throat and looked across to Dracaena who looked like she just smelled rotting garbage. "Mate," he said slowly. "I think you might want to take a moment to rethink how you want to speak about Lady Malfoy and then find a very good apology somewhere else on the train." Nodding his head to further down the train. Because if Dracaena didn't hex Ron, he would.

"Right, I'll just go look for a spell to get my foot out of my mouth," he said as he backed out of the carriage, it was one thing to trash talk someone but he understood that his friends wouldn't back him up for saying such a thing about someone's mother in front of them, that would be his own fight.

Hermione however quietly sat in the seat next to Harry, really unsure about how to approach any topic with the girl she really disliked sitting across from her. "Did you do your homework?" she asked as that should be a purely neutral question.

"Yes, actually, Narcissa and Dracaena were very helpful with the questions that I had, in fact there were questions I didn't even know to ask that they helped me with," Harry smiled as he nodded towards Dracaena who pulled her book up higher to hide her blush. Something Harry had discovered that he could get the blonde girl to react in a very cute manner to his compliments and praise.

It harkened back to something Narcissa had told him after one particularly vigorous night. "She's a demure girl, very proper, that is why I am helping you in this manner, so that if you pursue her, that you will provide her with all the pleasure you are capable of," Narcissa explained as she could tell that Harry’s attitude towards her daughter had changed very quickly this summer, due in part to the close proximity they shared.

"Oh Harry if you were having trouble with homework, you could have sent Hedwig to me." Hermione whined about not being able to help Harry with his summer school work.

"I don't think a letter would have been able to _"educate"_ me in the subjects that Narcissa had," Harry blushed as Dracaena made sure no one could see her vibrant crimson face, she had walked in on her mother training Harry and after memorizing every inch of his skin before shutting the door she found that she could not maintain eye contact for very long before her gaze started to wander.

"Oi Dracaena," Crabbe grunted as the lumbering oaf opened the compartment door. "Why didn't you meet us outside the train, we almost forgot to get on?"

"Because you fools, now that my father is in Azkaban, I have no requirement to keep you two bookends around, I'm sure Nott might have some use for you, now go away, you are ruining the atmosphere." Dracaena ordered the boys away, boys who only did her bidding because her father kept their fathers employed and in line.

"We know that, we just thought that since he was locked up, we could negotiate a reason for us to follow you around," Goyle wiped some drool from his chin as he leered at the young lady.

A second later Harry slammed his fist into Goyle's face, pushing him out of the carriage and tumbling over Crabbe. "I've fought bigger and meaner than you two, so put your shared brain cell to work and get on out of here," Harry warned the two idiots to get away before he showed them that he didn't just let Dudley get in hits for free. “Go find someone like Nott or Zabini, maybe they’d have some use for great stupid lumps like you.” Shouting down the hallway as the two bookends took off to find more Slytherins to back them up.

Slamming the door shut Harry sat back down on the bench in a huff. “I don’t understand what your father thought when he had those two follow you around all the time.” Harry muttered as getting to know Dracaena more this summer, she was still abrasive and had her pureblood beliefs, but now they were divested of the rantings of the false Dark Lord. And Harry had found it hard to explain why he liked being around her now, but she wasn’t the same eleven year old girl he met in a robe shop.

Speaking of his clothes, Hermione finally noticed that Harry was no longer wearing his hand-me -downs from Dudley. “You got new clothes and glasses,” she said excitedly as Harry was looking much better dressed in articles that fit him and not someone who was the size of a baby hippo.

“Yeah,” Harry chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “Narcissa and Dracaena couldn’t stand seeing me in what amounted to rags, so they took me to get some new clothes. These are less itchy than Dudley’s old stuff.” Harry pulled off his glasses too. “And these, I didn’t know the world wasn’t blurry.”

“What do you mean blurry?” Hermione snickered at the odd statement.

“Well the magical optometrist was horrified by the glasses I had been wearing, apparently they did almost nothing for me,” Harry smiled as he put the new glasses on again. “Said they were nothing more than bargain bin reading glasses. I got all the cool things on them too.”

“Not all the things,” Dracaena coughed into her hand.

“You’re right, but I wasn’t going to let Narcissa have the store put a charm that would let me see through clothes whenever I wanted to on them.” Harry shook his head with a smile. “It’d be tempting enough to use them, but one mistake and I get an eyeful of Snape, or worse Dumbledore.”

“Oh Merlin, can you not?” Dracaena scoffed. “It’s bad enough that my godfather makes blatant passes at my mother, but do not implant the idea of the headmaster without clothes into my head.”

“Sorry,” Harry laughed as he had finally gotten Dracaena to drop her standoffish mood, even if it was just for a moment.

“I’ll make you be sorry,” Dracaena muttered as she hid her face in her book, it was a few hours later when the door opened again and three other Slytherin girls stood there staring at the strange anomaly that was Dracaena Malfoy sitting with Harry Potter.

“It would see that there is some truth to the rumors all over the train,” Daphne Greengrass said as she, Tracy Davis and Pansy Parkinson took up the remaining spots in the compartment. “An interesting development to be sure.”

“Greengrass,” Dracaena greeted, her tone sounding like she was wishing the other blonde would catch on fire. “Yes, due to my father’s current accommodations, I am in need of new associates.”

“And I thought it would have something to do with the end of last year,” Daphne sniped back before looking Harry up and down, appraising him in all his newness.

“So Potter, what’d you do to get Malfoy to take you in, finally get on your knees for your betters?” Pansy sneered at the Gryffindor.

Harry’s first response was to tell her to shut up, but he had been on his knees for Lady Malfoy and couldn’t say that she was wrong, even if it had been a lucky guess. “There are some issues with Sirius Black that are changing the normal dynamics and it’s for the best, at least in the short term.” Answering the question without really saying anything of importance.

“Huh,” Tracy mused as she hadn’t expected Harry to give an actually decent answer to the verbal jab Pansy had sent out. “I noticed that there is one fewer redhead than normal?”

“Ron is trying to find his sense of timing,” Harry smiled at the girl with curly brown hair. “It would do him well in the future to know when to say what he is thinking and when it would be more beneficial to hold his tongue.”

Nodding appreciatively at the answer as Ron Weasley’s penchant for running his mouth was not a secret in the school and many times had gotten himself in unnecessary trouble.

“Harry, could you be a sweetheart and take Ms. Granger to get yourself some us some sweets,” Dracaena said as she handed him a few galleons with a nod that said she wanted some privacy.

“Sure,” Harry accepted the coins and patted Hermione on the shoulder as he stood up.

“Harry?” Hermione questioned as they walked away from the compartment. “What’s that about?”

“I learned quite a few things at the end of last year, and it’s only because Narcissa was willing to listen to me that I was believed,” Harry whispered. “I however can’t do anything to change the minds of anyone, either people would believe me because I’m The-Boy-Who-Lived or they wouldn’t because of that same reason, but Dracaena knows how to get people to listen to her. If it all works out, then life at Hogwarts might start to get more manageable.”

“What is it that you know?” Hermione questioned as she stood next to the trolley loaded up with treats. She couldn’t conceive of anything that he could say that would cause that drastic of a difference, even if he was over exaggerating.

Harry leaned over and got very close to Hermione’s ear. “I know who Voldemort was before he became the dark lord he masqueraded as,” pulling away to see that Hermione had a look of shock on her face. “That has to stay a secret, if it gets out too soon, people would be able to deny it.”

“My god,” Hermione quietly said as she absorbed that information. None of the books she read had any information on who You-Know-Who-Was before he appeared, it was as if he came out of nowhere with no one knowing anything about him but what he preached. For Harry to know and for that to be enough to change Malfoy this dramatically, it would have to be incredibly devastating news.

Harry knocked on the door and waited patiently for the girls inside to open. “Hey, I got your favorite Dracaena, and just assorted chocolate for the rest of you,” setting the pile of goodies on the table that could be pulled up from the floor.

The Slytherin girls who had come in after were looking at Harry in a way he wasn’t sure how to define, but since none of them were looking at him like he was covered in feces anymore, it must have meant that Dracaena had been able to convince them of the truth.

The train’s sudden deceleration was confusing to the occupants. “We shouldn’t be at the school just yet?” Hermione wondered as while she felt awkward being around all these other girls who had previously made fun of her for many things, such as her appearance, wealth, blood status, but now they were at least holding their tongues enough that conversations, as mild as discussing summer homework could be, were enjoyable enough for her.

“No, we’re not,” Dracaena looked out the window. “Dementors!” she gasped as she recognized the shapes floating around the train.

“Here?” Harry questioned, not from any disbelief in Dracaena’s assessment but from the strangeness of them being near the Hogwarts Express. “What are they doing so far from Azkaban?”

“They’re on the train,” Pansy hissed as she heard a compartment door slam shut. She started to edge away from the door as the glass frosted over, an unearthly chill filling the room.

“Potter!” Dracaena hissed quietly as she nervously drew her wand, she knew of the Patronus spell, but not how to cast it, that was beyond her capabilities with only two years of education under her belt.

“What do you want me to do?” Harry asked as he had read the monstrous book of monsters and knew what a dementor was.

“You’re the one who kills the big scary monsters,” Dracaena said as she looked terrified at the door as one of the dementors stopped outside their compartment.

“That’s pure luck,” Harry shook his head as he tried to think of something he could do to banish this creature, but the list of spells he knew came up as useless in this situation.

“Then make some luck,” Daphne protested as she could feel the depressing aura the dementors gave off. It penetrated deep to her core and made everything about the world cold and sad, she wanted it to stop.

Scrambling into his trunk Harry tossed a few things around and littered the floor with his belongings. As soon as the door opened Harry jammed something he had kept with him since the end of last year into the chest of the dementor. The dementor let out a hellish scream and began thrashing around before falling into a pile of dust and rags.

“Man, this thing is great,” turning over the basilisk fang he had gone back into the chamber to collect. His original thinking was that it would make for one sick trophy, but it turned out to be an effective weapon still. “Kill diaries and dementors,” tossing the fang back into his trunk before the sounds of commotion as a haggard looking older gentleman stopped in their doorway.

“Harry,” Remus Lupin gasped, looking between the slain dementor and Harry Potter who was casually sitting on the bench as if nothing had happened. “What the fuck?!” He exclaimed as he had just witnessed the impossible, but he didn’t know how.


	2. Day One at Hogwarts

For the first time in recorded history a dementor had been killed, in theory they could be sealed away long enough that they faded from existence, however that supposedly took centuries. So when the brand new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor had sprinted into the Great Hall as soon as he could to relay this to the other professors, understandably, this caused an uproar.

Before his time spent with the Malfoys, Harry would have been terrified of being confronted by the Minister of Magic, his headmaster and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as they were all interested in learning what had transpired on the train full of children. However this was a Harry that had been coached by the young Slytherin ladies who understood that Harry could be in a lot of trouble for an act that technically wasn’t even a crime as since no one had ever killed a dementor there weren't any laws regarding this particular situation on the books. Something Hermione had been quick to point out as her animosity towards the other girls was put aside for the sake of protecting Harry.

He hadn’t even had a chance to really go into detail about what he had done as when he informed the gathering of authority figures that a dementor had forced its way inside their compartment it started an argument between them all about why a dementor would do that. Dumbledore was blaming the Minister, Fudge was deflecting and Madam Bones was saying they were both to blame for not ensuring the safety of the students before deciding to surround Hogwarts with the prison guards.

“How about you both shut your yaps!” Amelia shouted over the two bickering gentlemen, having grown tired of their voices. “Harry, what I need to know is how you killed it,” Amelia focused on Harry as he was the person who should be speaking, not them, they should have been interested in fact finding and not trying to see who was to blame for this.

Harry took a deep calming breath and opened his mouth, he could see that all three of the adults were waiting patiently for his answer. “No,” Harry said with barely restrained joy as he saw the way their faces changed to shock.

“N-NO?!” Minister Fudge cried out after he finished imitating a fish with how his mouth opened and closed repeatedly absorbing that he was being rebuffed. “What do you mean no?”

“What I mean is, I have no intention of telling you how I did what I did.” Harry folded his arms with a smirk. The first thing Dracaena had instructed him was to say nothing unless you get something out of it. “Why should I freely tell you of a way to kill a dementor? I, like the other students, were assured that the ministry had complete control over them.” Smugly staring as he could see the minister’s visible anger at being called out so effectively.

“Secondly, Madam Bones, I have no way of knowing whether or not explaining how my method works wouldn’t result in me getting into any legal trouble,” turning towards the officer as that had been Daphne’s advice. If they didn’t give any promise that he wouldn’t be punished, then he shouldn’t give any information that could potentially incriminate himself and should remain quiet. “After all, the dementors could be viewed by some as employees of the ministry and I do not wish to fall afoul of any long forgotten law in regards to how I did it or who I did it too.”

“As for you Headmaster,” Harry finally faced Dumbledore but did not meet his gaze. “You have said time and time again that Hogwarts is safe, does that safety not extend to the Hogwarts Express and if it does, then clearly Hogwarts is not as safe as you claim it to be as the dementors are a potential threat to each and every student who walks these walls.” Tracey had told him that the only way to get adults to respect you was to tear them apart, otherwise they’d just think of him as a child. Harry figured she was right as the entire time they had been talking over or about him, as if what had happened did not require his input and when they finally got around to him, it was to make him do what they wanted.

“So I do not think I will be disclosing how a dementor was slain and unless you have anything further, I am taking my leave,” Standing up out of the chair and heading towards the door, as after all the advice and support the Slytherin girls were giving Harry, Hermione had been pressed to find a way to get Harry out of trouble. She had concluded that since Hogwarts still resided in the United Kingdom the school was still required to follow its laws and unless Harry was being formally detained he didn’t have to sit around and let them walk all over him. So unless they planned to charge him for what he had been assured was not a crime, he was free to leave.

Harry let out a breath as he had taken a huge gamble with how he acted, he knew the minister had no compunctions against throwing an innocent man into Azkaban as he had done so to Hagrid all because the groundskeeper had been accused by Tom last time the basilisk had been set upon the school. He also had no confidence that Dumbledore would prevent that from happening again; as to Harry it didn’t look like he fought too hard to fight that erroneous claim last year. That only left Madam Bones, a woman he knew nothing about and couldn’t trust where her loyalties lay. This left him having to place his trust in what Dracaena, Hermione and the other Slytherin girls had come up with and that group had at least two people in it he could trust to look out for him.

* * *

Stepping into the Great Hall, having missed the sorting due to the long meeting in Dumbledore’s office, Harry noticed that all conversations had died down.  _ “It seems that everyone is now aware of what happened on the train,”  _ Harry realized as he walked down the tables avoiding eye contact with anyone as he saw that Hermione had kept an open spot between her and Ron which he was grateful for since that would allow them to keep most people from bothering him long enough to actually get some food in him. “They are pissed,” Harry whispered to Hermione. “It wasn’t just Dumbledore, that idiot Fudge and some other woman were also there,” informing her of who was present in the meeting.

“You really shouldn’t call the Minister of Magic an idiot Harry,” Hermione chastised as she kept her volume low so it wouldn’t be heard in the numerous conversations around the hall.

“That man locked Hagrid up without evidence or a trial, I think that me saying he’s an idiot is being nice compared to what that man really is,” Harry said quietly as she blushed, embarrassed as she remembered what had gone down in Hagrid’s hut. It had shocked and appalled her how due process was just thrown out the window on the grounds that the ministry had to be seen doing something.

“Well just don’t do it in public, you don’t want someone spouting off that Harry Potter hates the Ministry, who knows what kind of attention that will bring on you,” Hermione warned as she could agree that Harry’s assessment was being a bit generous but she could also see how him being vocal about his opinion of Fudge could get him in trouble.

“Fine,” Harry agreed as he could see that idiot trying to get Harry in trouble for killing a dementor, moreso if he felt that Harry was attacking his reputation. “So what did I miss?”

“That man who came to our compartment is the new Defense Professor,” Hermione nodded in the direction of Remus Lupin. “And Astoria Greengrass was sorted into Slytherin.” That had been the only name she recognized of the new first year students.

Harry hummed appreciatively as he absorbed that information. “Look at Snape,” Harry commented as he noticed that Severus was constantly taking sidelong glances at their new defense professor. 

“Odd behavior,” Hermione noticed that their potions professor would keep looking over to the other man.

“Snape did that with Quirrell a few times in first year.” Recalling the behavior that Harry wasn’t going to ignore this time around because of his blind hatred of the potions professor.

“Do you think Professor Lupin is possessed then?” Hermione inquired as that detail was enough to ring some alarm bells in her head.

“Not sure, my scar isn’t hurting when I look at Professor Lupin, but Snape seems to know this new guy, I say we keep an eye on him just in case,” using their Potions Professor as an early warning system since he’d sussed out before them that Quirrell was not who he seemed to be. This didn’t prove anything, but it was enough for Harry to keep his opinion open to change.

“So mate,” Ron coughed, having sat quietly and listened to Harry and Hermione discuss, he agreed with them that something would definitely be up this year. “What exactly happened with the dementor?”

“Basilisks are more lethal than dementors,” Harry said smugly.

“Wait, you had a basilisk with you on the train?” Ron questioned in shock as he didn’t think Harry could have hidden a snake that big.

Harry chuckled as he shook his head. “Nope, but a fang still has venom even if it’s not in the snake.”

“When did you get a chance to get a fang?” Ron questioned as he had gotten separated from Harry before the final confrontation.

“When it bit me,” Harry muttered. “I stabbed it back, so I guess we’re even.”

“Bloody hell,” Ron gasped as he hadn’t known that Harry had been bitten, he’d just seen Harry come back out of the chamber exhausted with Dracaena quietly following him.

“You think of how you’re going to apologize to Dracaena for what you said about her mother?” Harry asked as he began to eat his dinner.

Ron mumbled something under his breath. “Ron,” Harry sighed. “I know it’s hard, but Dracaena and Lady Malfoy were both incredibly nice to me this summer and very helpful. So I’m asking you as a friend, could you please apologize to her for what you said about her mother?”

“They’re snakes Harry,” Ron sputtered as he really didn’t want to do it, even if Harry was pulling the friend card on him.

“I know but just remember,” slyly grinning at his friend.  _ “I can talk to snakes,” _ Harry hissed.

Ron scooted back away from Harry, his eyes wide in shock before he saw the grin on Harry’s face. “Oh you cheeky… ugh, fine,” Ron groaned. “I’ll go apologize to her tomorrow.” His annoyance turned into a laugh shortly after though. “You got me good there though.”

“I did, didn’t I,” Harry said proudly. “Think I’m at the level to take on the twins?”

“Your funeral.” Ron snickered. “If you do, can I have the Nimbus, I figured Hermione would want the invisibility cloak?”

“Why would I want an invisibility cloak?” Hermione questioned deciding this nonsense conversation would be good to pass the time.

Rolling his eyes. “So you could sit in the library all day and never be seen, just think of the extra reading you could do if Pince couldn’t see you to kick you out?” Ron shook his head as if it was so obvious.

Hermione gasped as she hadn’t considered that before. “Oh yes please, I want the cloak then.” She said to Harry.

“Sorry it all goes to Hedwig,” Harry stated. “Including my titles, she will be The-Owl-Who-Lived.” He had this talk a few times with Hedwig over the summer, she would protest as best as she could, but he was insistent that she get everything.

“Oh shoot, should have done more work to suck up to your owl,” Hermione grinned.

“It’s not too late,” Ron suggested. “A little extra bacon every morning would make anyone your friend.”

“That would only work on you Ron,” Harry chuckled.

“Pfft, everyone likes bacon.” Ron scoffed not believing that his friends doubted the power of bacon.

* * *

Harry was in a decidedly good mood as he woke up the next day. Dressing and heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast he was unsurprised to see the Minister and Madam Bones waiting for him. “Good morning,” He waved as he sat down and started to make himself a platter of food, instead of just eggs he made sure to grab some fruit along with.

“Ahh good morning young Harry,” Dumbledore said as he sat down across from Harry.

“Hello old Albus,” Harry teased.

Dumbledore held back a snort. “Well I guess I had that one coming didn’t I?”

Nodding Harry looked at the other two who took a seat on the sides of the headmaster. “Is this about the incident on the train or do you have something else you wanted to talk about?” Harry asked as he forked a piece of grapefruit and brought it to his mouth.

The minister nodded towards Amelia who began to speak. “We are willing to offer you immunity for your method so long as it wasn’t done through dark magic.”

“Hmmm, I’m going to have to say no again. I don’t know what is actually considered dark magic, so again I am unaware if the method I used falls into that category, unless you could narrow things down, I’m still unsure if I can trust you all.” Harry replied.

“Harry see reason,” Albus sighed. “We are not out to get you. We just wish to determine if the method that you used to kill a dementor is replicatible. They are prison guards, should a prisoner discover this, there could be a mass escape.”

“I can understand that, but after what I saw last year in Hagrid’s hut, I don’t trust that you...” pointing his fork at the minister. “Would not have to be seen doing something once again.”

“How did you-,” Minister Fudge gasped, he had been sure that no one but himself, Dumbledore and the groundskeeper were there when he did so. But it would seem that Mr. Potter was far more informed than he previously expected.

“I have my ways, I’m the Boy-Who-Lived after all,” Harry teased. Narcissa had told him that many people still respected his title even if he hated it. She understood why as well, and had been there as he talked about his parents. She had offered him a compromise, instead of trying to remove the fame, he would use it for what he thought was good. So when needed against people who wielded theirs like a cudgel, he could use his as a shield. 

“Ahem, Minister, what is Mr. Potter alluding to?” Amelia cleared her throat and looked very angry at the minister. His corruption was an open secret in the departments, but to do something that would make a Hogwarts student hesitant to cooperate, it meant that the minister must have done something horrendous.

Tugging at his collar, Fudge looked away from the angry officer. “I don't know what the boy is talking about,” he said, trying to deflect and deny when confronted with the prospect of being questioned by the angry witch.

“Dumbledore knows since he was there and he let it happen too, which is part of the reason I’m can’t trust that I don’t get chucked into Azkaban without a trial,” Harry glared at his headmaster who at least had the decency to look apologetic for his part in allowing Hagrid to be dragged away.

“I see now young Harry why you have held back your information,” Albus sighed as he understood why Harry was being hesitant, to him it would have looked like he just let it happen or worse participated in it. To a young mind, unaware of the vast and complicated workings of the ministry it would definitely cause one to lose faith in those in charge.

“Yes, so I’m going to need a lot more than just a promise that I might not get in trouble, full blanket immunity for what I say and anything possibly relating to it,” Harry said tapping the table. “That is my condition.”

“I will grant that to you Harry,” Albus agreed, knowing this would be the only way to regain some of the trust he had lost.

“You can’t,” Fudge quickly interjected.

“That may be, but as Chief Warlock I can most certainly suspend any investigation or trial, indefinitely if I need to. And that is as good as immunity,” Albus shook his head. “Even if you both wanted to drag him in front of the Wizengamot, I would not allow a trial to take place, I could even set the date of the trial fifty thousand years from now if I have to.”

“Fine,” Amelia nodded. “I can’t do an investigation until I have information to go off of and unless he tells me he created some new killing curse, I don’t see any reason to go after Mr. Potter.”

“Grr, that’s a dirty trick Albus,” Minister Fudge growled as he didn’t want to lose a chance to bring down the boy who lived, before his incarceration Lucius had paid him a significant sum to do just the thing. His blonde benefactor had told him The-Boy-Who-Lived would grow up to try and disrupt his power as minister and that worried him greatly.

Smiling, Harry reached into his school bag and pulled out the basilisk fang. Harry had it carefully wrapped inside an old t-shirt to serve as a makeshift sheath for it, he laid out the dangerous tooth on the table, unwrapping the cloth and displaying it proudly to the adults.

“What is that?” Amelia curiously looked at the article that Harry just set on the table. “Is it a tooth?”

“A fang,” Harry smirked seeing Albus’ eyes widen in understanding.

“Of course, a dementor is only a class xxx creature, of course a xxxxx would be able to kill it,” Ablus chuckled. “Clever thinking my boy.”

“Five x’s?” Fudge questioned as he was no magizoologist, but he at least understood five was the highest and most dangerous classification of magical creatures around.

“Yes, that is the fang of a basilisk,” Albus nodded as he would be able to give a short but still rare lecture to someone. “I would suspect that the venom is enough to kill any living creature, and the dementors most certainly fall into that category.”

“Where on earth could you have found a basilisk?” Amelia questioned, to her knowledge there hasn’t been a basilisk seen in the British Isles for the last three hundred years, and it had been a very small snake. This fang looked like it belonged to a monster of unfathomable size.

“Underneath a girls bathroom,” Harry chuckled. “It was Salazar Slytherin’s pet monster.” Taking the fang and putting it back in his bag. “I have to be getting to class now headmaster. I don’t want to be late to Professor Hagrid’s first class. Who knows, he could be as bad as Snape.”

“Harry,” Albus chastised, he wanted to try and nip the animosity Harry held towards Snape and vice versa, but he’d been unsuccessful so far on both accounts.

Harry smirked. “Oh who am I kidding, no one could be as bad as Snape,” Harry said dismissively as he happily strolled down the lines of tables, the other students having done a piss poor job of hiding that they were eavesdropping.

* * *

After his little ride around the castle on Buckbeak Harry was thinking that this year would turn out great until he could see Dracaena starting to get frustrated with the hippogriff who refused to let her climb on for a ride. Once Buckbeak reared back Harry knew what was about to happen.

Sprinting forward to tackle her out of the way he felt Buckbeak's large claws rake across his back, which would have likely disemboweled Dracaena if it struck her on the front. “Potter,” Dracaena moaned as she felt Harry’s weight pressing down on her. “Not here,” she said quietly before she realized where she was. “I mean, get off me,” quickly correcting herself as she had for a moment thought Harry was just going to take her there in front of the whole class.

Harry hissed as he stood up and removed his shirt. “How bad is it?” He turned his back to the class so that they could tell him how long Pomfrey was going to keep him in the hospital wing. The class gasped in shock as besides the three long red scars oozing blood on his back, Harry had a number of scars that had long since healed. “Oh man, it’s really bad isn’t it?” Harry sighed as he turned around and displayed his torso to the class who he could have sworn he heard someone scream.

“Class dismissed,” Hagrid quickly started to shoo away his students but a number of them ducked under his arm and hurried over to check on their friends.

“Harry oh my god, what happened to you?” Hermione questioned in horror as she looked him over.

“You just saw Hermione, Buckbeak scratched me?” Harry replied in confusion.

“That is not a scratch mate,” Ron shook his head in total disbelief that Harry wasn’t rolling around on the ground screaming his head off in agony.

“And I’m not talking about that, Harry what is all this?” she gestured to all his old scars.

“Durlseys,” Harry shrugged hoping that no one would pry into his history. Only Narcissa had done so and it took him a long time to open up to any of that. She swore a magical vow to never say a word of it to anyone unless he said it was okay, that was the only reason he had done so after she insisted that he tell someone, for his own sake. Like the other advice Narcissa had given him, she was right, just laying in a bed next to her as he told of all the horrible and awful ways he had been treated, it felt like an immense pressure was let off of his soul from having to keep it all in. “Except this, that was the basilisk,” pointing to the nasty mark on his arm.

“Ignore all that Potter,” Tracey interjected. “We need to get you to Pomfrey immediately.” Starting to tug on his arm, terrified that he might pass out from blood loss while they all hemmed and hawed over his scarred and surprisingly muscular body.

“It can’t be that bad,” Harry said. “I barely felt it.”

Pansy came forward and grabbed his other arm and started to pull with Tracey as they managed to get Harry to begin walking with them up to the castle. “Okay fine, I’ll go.” Harry relented. “I’ll see you later Hagrid,” Harry said over his shoulder as the group of people followed behind. The half-giant looked very sad as he led Buckbeak back into the forest. “I’m gonna have to go check on him later.” Harry said to himself as he knew Hagrid must be feeling awful about how his first lesson had gone.

“He did that for me,” Dracaena whispered to Daphne as they walked from a distance, the entire time she couldn’t look away from the blood on his back.

“Lucky,” Daphne replied. “And what was that you said before you told him to get off you, hmm?” Teasing her friend as she was almost certain the other blonde had let slip something she wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to hear.

Blushing furiously Dracaena shoved Daphne. “Shut up.”

“Fine, I’ll just need to make sure I ask him out first,” Daphne smirked.

“No, you can’t,” Dracaena said louder than she wanted to, earning curious looks from Ron and Hermione who were having their own talks.

“Why not?” Daphne raised an eyebrow. “Unless you mean to take him for yourself, then I don’t see why I should listen to you. And even if you do, he’s a Potter, I’d wager my earrings he’s heir to more than one family line, we could share him, maybe even bring Pansy and Tracey as concubines,” smirking as the look on the face of the young lady Malfoy was one of fury but with hints of blush dusting her cheeks. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“Oh well, we can discuss that later,” Daphne trailed off knowing that she couldn’t go too far with her ribbing before the other girl exploded.

* * *

Harry sighed as the girls who held his arms captive led him over to a bed and forced him to sit down. From an outside perspective it looked as though they were there to keep other people away from him, to Harry he felt more like a prisoner. “Oh dear, Mr. Potter,” Poppy bustled over. “Only a day and you are here, are you trying to set a record or something?”

“Pfft, if there is one, I’m bound to beat it eventually,” Harry scoffed. “It’s really not that bad,” Harry protested as the nurse came around and almost dropped her wand in shock as she looked at his back.

“It is and you ladies were right to bring him to me,” Poppy said as she waved her wand to clean up the blood that was covering his back. “It’s going to take at least a day to get this all mended.”

Harry groaned. “Come on, can’t you just I dunno, put some stitches and then let me go, I can walk just fine.” He really didn’t want to be stuffed up in the Hospital Wing for an entire day.

“No I cannot,” Poppy said firmly. “That is substandard care and I will not allow you to get more scars.”

“But that’s what I’m used to,” Harry replied back. “And I clearly don’t have an issue with scars.”

“Mr. Potter,” Poppy sighed. “Harry, you should not be this banged up. We are a school, it’s supposed to be safe.”

“Really, the last few years would beg to differ,” Harry snorted in response. “Madam Pomfrey, just... close them up and I’ll come see you if they cause me problems.” Harry said as he sighed. “I have so much to do this year and I can’t waste time laying in a bed when I don’t need to.”

“What could you possibly have to do that is more important than your health, young man?” Pomfrey said incredulously.

“Training for when Sirius Black comes to murder me,” Harry shouted suddenly, startling the others who were surprised by his shift in demeanor. “It doesn’t do me any good if I’m healthy now if he just comes and slits my throat in my sleep. I need to be ready to slaughter the man that betrayed my parents to that piece of shit and I won’t get any better by spending time in the hospital wing. So are you going to patch me up and let me go or not?” Turning to glare at the nurse who was staring dumbfounded at him.

“No student has ever spoken to me in such a disrespectful manner Mr. Potter,” Poppy frowned at the way Harry was talking to her, she understood that he was under a lot of pressure this year but that didn’t give him cause to be rude.

“And I doubt most students have had so many murderers specifically coming to kill them before as well,” Harry fired back, his statement being enough to silence the witch with the harsh reality of it.

“Fine,” Madam Pomfrey waved her wand as the wounds started to close, then applying a salve and then wrapping bandages around his torso to cover the tender skin. “But the moment you feel discomfort, you come back to me, so I can say I told you so,” she wagged her finger at Harry who rolled his eyes and grabbed his shirt from Tracey.

He looked at the shirt and noticed that the back didn’t have the horrible tears in it any and was no longer soaked in his blood. “Hey, thanks,” Harry smiled at the teen who nodded biting her lip as she watched Harry button up the shirt. “Well time to go deal with Snape, oh joy,” Harry sarcastically said as the group followed him out of the hospital wing.

“Was it necessary to be so mean to Madam Promfrey, she’s only looking out for your best interest,” Hermione chastised as she hurried to get to the front of the pack.

“Yes,” Harry said back. “It’s one thing to keep me when the fraud removed all the bones in my arm, it’s another to keep me there when I only got a scratch.”

“That was not a scratch,” Hermione shouted. “You were bleeding a lot. If it was deeper it would have hit your spine.”

“And that’s a scratch to me Hermione,” Harry said back. “I’ve been so used to whatever sadistic punishment the Dursleys would come up with, that those three marks were nothing.”

“You can’t be-” Hermione tried to protest but Harry cut her off with a raised palm.

“I don’t need this right now,” Harry exhaled deeply. “We’re going to go into potions and I need to not be so angry that I throw my cauldron at Snape. Can you please just drop it for now?” Harry requested of his friend who nodded slowly.

* * *

As Harry sat down on the bench near the back, Dracaena took up a spot next to him while Pansey took the other quickly. He’d been surprised that the other girl was still hanging around him, but she was Dracaena’s best friend, so he couldn’t fault her. That allowed Hermione to sit with both Neville and Ron, which would probably keep their cauldrons from going into a meltdown. He was for a moment eager to see how well the remedial lessons he’d gotten while staying with the Malfoys would benefit him in the class until the greasy haired professor stomped in with a scowl on his face, as per usual.

“The headmaster has me busy with extra work so you all will be held to a higher standard than usual,” Looking around the room before his eyes stopped on Harry, a look of confusion gracing his face as he had not expected to see Harry between two of his Slytherin’s, least of all young lady Malfoy. He shook his head a moment later and continued his spiel about why they are all dunderheads and proceeded to dock points from Gryffindor before setting the instructions on the board for them to begin working.

“Now Harry you remember the steps my mother said, what do we do first?” Dracaena coached as she wanted to see how well Harry did in his first lesson back.

Nodding, Harry looked up at the board and reread the ingredients and their measurements. “Okay, next clear the workspace and wipe down all tools,” Harry said as he made sure the desk was clean before moving onto his cauldron, even if he had wiped it out beforehand, it never hurt to do so again just in case.

“Good,” Dracaena smiled at him even as the other students looked very perplexed by what was happening in the back of the room.

After some time preparing, where Harry sorted out his ingredients, checking them over for freshness and marking down each step he completed, he almost knocked over his cauldron when Snape shouted at him. “Potter, one hundred points from Gryffindor and you will undo whatever it is you have done to my students or I swear I will have you expelled.” Snape ordered as he stormed over towards Harry’s group furious.

“What?” Harry looked at Dracaena and Pansy unsure what he was being accused of this time.

“Denying it then Potter, of course,” Snape snarled as he pointed his wand at Harry. “I will find out what you have done then I will see that you are punished for it, legilimens,” He said as he cast the spell that would let him into Harry’s mind.

“Ack,” Harry grunted as he felt the intrusion, it was like an entirely different pain than he’d felt before. He could actually feel Snape digging into his memories, tearing through them like a rampaging rhino. A drop of blood dripped out of his nose before he felt the pressure lessen followed by Snape’s cries of agony, as he pulled back his left hand where a scalpel had been shoved in it. “Th-thanks, P-Pansy.” Harry huffed as that had been her knife that she used to break the concentration the professor needed for the spell.

Dracaena turned towards the class, taking charge of the confusing situation and began to issue orders, “Bullstrode, go to the greenhouses, get Professor Sprout, Thomas, you are going to Charms, get Professor Flitwick and Susan Bones. Granger find McGonagall and inform her that we need the headmaster. Weasley go and get Madam Pomfrey, who knows the damage Snape just did to Harry’s mind.” She looked flustered as she gently rubbed Harry’s back, the students rushing out of the room not questioning that Malfoy was the one giving them orders. “It’s okay, he’s out of your head, just calm down.”

“What was that?” Harry gasped out as he felt like he’d been hit with a dozen headaches at once.

“Here,” Daphne handed Harry a potion. “It’s a pain reliever and a mild blood replenisher.”

“Why do you-” Harry started to say before he turned bright red. “Oh,” was all he said before he took a sip of the vile concoction and handed it back to her. “Thanks.”

* * *

A few minutes later and the other heads of houses, along with the nurse and headmaster came into the dungeons unsure of what to expect. But they could see Snape standing by his desk nursing a bloody hand as Gryffindors were keeping their wands trained on him while four Slytherin ladies were tending to Harry.

“Harry my boy what happened?” Albus said as the other professors ushered the students out of the room.

“Snape attacked me sir,” Harry answered. “I don’t know what spell he used but it was like he was in my head.” While Harry was not aware of what magic Snape had cast, the older and more experienced professors were and they were furious.

“You stupid bastard, you did not seriously try to use legillimency on a student against their will!!!” Flitwick shouted as he’d been listening like the rest of the teachers. He didn’t need much more details beyond that to understand what transpired in the dungeon.

“He has done something to my students, and placed them under his control, I was within my rights to protect them,” Snape snarled.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about professors, I haven’t done anything to Dracaena or Pansy,” Harry quickly rebuffed the accusation.

“It is true Headmaster,” Dracaena nodded. “Harry has not done anything untowards myself or Pansy.” She had to stop herself from adding on a few extra words about how she wanted him to do so, but that wouldn’t be appropriate in this moment.

“See,” Snape pointed at Dracaena. “That is clear evidence that Potter has them under his control.”

“No it isn’t Snape,” Dracaena puffed up in offense. “I owe Harry Potter a life debt and I mean to repay it. I could never do so if I treated him horribly,” Announcing to the class why her attitude had seemed to have done a complete turnaround towards the one student they thought she hated beyond reason.

“Regardless of why Ms. Malfoy is deciding to treat Mr. Potter differently,” Minerva glared at the Potions Master. “That does not give you any right to attack a student. I assumed you were smarter than that Severus. It seems I was wrong.”

“Susan,” Dracaena looked at the redhead who was unsure why she was specifically named to be there when Dean Thomas burst into the room having run from one side of the school. “I would very much appreciate it if you would contact your aunt.”

The redheaded girl nodded quickly as she pulled out a locket and tapped it with her wand. Dumbledore sighed as he felt a group of people pass through the wards a moment later. He looked to his other heads of houses. “I will need to go collect Amelia and her aurors, will you be capable of keeping the situation from devolving further?” Hoping that his professors didn’t decide to attack Severus once he left the room.

“We can do that, just don’t take too long,” Pomona warned.

“If you stayed in the hospital wing,” Poppy said as she tended to Harry.

Rolling his eyes Harry smirked at the nurse. “Oh you just could not wait to say I told you so could you?”

“I like saying that to students, but…” Looking at Snape who had been the cause of the injury this time. “I guess this was unforeseen and I won’t get on your case about it.”

“Can someone tell me whatever it was he did, because it hurt like a motherfucker,” Harry said as he rested his head on the table.

“Language Mr. Potter,” Minerva warned but she understood the pains he felt, having someone attack your mind like that was one of the few methods that people claim to be close to the cruciatus in how much it hurt. “But what he did was called legilimency. It’s a mind art. Severus is quite adept at it which is why him doing it to you so forcefully was causing you such pain.”

“There are methods that can protect your mind from these attacks Mr. Potter,” Flitwick added on. “I have some books that will help you get started if you would like.” Offering his services to protect this student from an attack like this again.

“That sounds great,” Harry groaned as he could feel the potion Daphne gave him start to work, it wasn’t perfect but it alleviated some of the pressure off his mind.

“I would say that class is dismissed now,” Pomona said as Dumbledore came back to the dungeon with the aurors in tow. She noticed that besides Ron and Hermione who always hung around Harry, Dracaena, Pansy, Tracey and Daphne took up seats around Harry. She, like the other professors, found this a curious development but it wasn’t their place to state anything.

“I just left a few hours ago Dumbledore, why did my niece contact me?” Amelia grumbled having dropped everything she was doing and grabbing whatever aurors were available to storm Hogwarts.

Dumbledore nodded to Harry to begin telling his version of events. Amelia was furious as she looked over at the potions master, report after report of misconduct and nothing could be done about it. Not this time though. “And you Professor Snape,” Amelia said, even if the word professor was forced.

“The boy lies,” Snape growled as he had hoped that the nurse would have tending to his wound but the harsh glare she was sending his way told him all he needed to know about whether she would fix his hand or not. “He has done something to these ladies and I will get to the bottom of it.” Promising that he would find a way to incriminate Potter for what he saw as blatant disregard for rules.

Waving his wand around, Dumbledore smiled appreciatively. “I detect no spells on any of the young ladies in this room. I am certain that if we tested them for potions that too would find no traces of any wrongdoing.” Albus looked at his potions master. “So unless Mr. Potter has created a method of undetectable control then it would seem you jumped to a conclusion without evidence Severus.”

Snape did nothing but glare and growl. “Well he attacked a student in full view of an entire class,” Amelia stated. “He’s mine for twenty-four hours, minimum,” she told Albus. “I’m going to get some answers to questions we’ve wanted to ask for a while now.” Pointing to the professor as the aurors came around to take him in. “And get Moody,” Amelia called out just before the door shut. “He’d hex us all if we didn’t let him know about this before he retires.”

Snape upon hearing that the famed auror would be involved in his questioning began to struggle to get out of the grip the officers had on him, but it prove fruitless as they weren’t going to let him go and even if he did escape, he had nowhere to go, the other professors would just gang up on him.

“Man, today just gets better,” Harry chuckled as he watched that all play out. “Hey, you think we can try to get Filch next?”

Ron didn’t hold back his laughter as the slytherin girls giggled quietly while Hermione looked at Harry in shock. “Do not gode Hogwarts staff into getting in trouble,” the brunette chastised Harry for his comment.

“I agree with Ms. Granger,” Minerva pursed her lips, even if she understood that Argus was not well liked among the student body for his constant threats to them.

“Fine, fine,” Harry waved of his joke. “So Defense next?” Harry asked as he was wondering how this next class would go. “Can’t get worse, I was already mauled then assaulted. Although the last two defense professors turned out to be very unique, who knows what this one is going to be like.”

The other teachers cringed at Harry’s remark as they knew that the secret of Lupin being a werewolf was being carefully guarded by the staff, and it would seem Harry was already suspicious of him. Even if they had to admit that with Quirrel and Lockhart as his two previous teachers, he was right to be thinking this way.

With how the year was starting off they could only pray that things didn’t get worse.


End file.
